1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to advertising and display means, and more specifically to the provision of such display means upon the tubular cores of rolled products, such as toilet tissue, plastic and aluminum foil, paper towels, etc. The present invention provides text and/or graphic messages and displays upon or within the cores of such rolled products, to provide utility for a previously useless article once the rolled material was depleted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rolled products of various types are found nearly universally in homes, offices and other businesses, etc. The provision of toilet tissue, paper towels, aluminum and plastic wrap, etc, on an inexpensive cylindrical core of paper or other suitable product, has been found to be an economical means of manufacturing and supplying such goods to the consumer.
Heretofore, the tubular cores of such rolled goods were devoid of any information or display thereon, and were considered to be throwaway, waste articles, in much the same manner as wrapping material, cans and other containers, etc. The present invention makes use of this previously wasted area to provide advertising and other messages as desired, thereby transforming such tubular cores into useful articles. Even greater value to the consumer may be provided by providing such cores with some value, such as a discount on a like product with the return of a core from a previously used roll, or perhaps public service and/or safety messages, etc. Selective printing or wrapping of the cores with different messages may also be used as chance means for prizes, free products or discounts on products, etc.
The present invention may be accomplished by printing directly upon or within the core, or by applying a sheet of material over the core before wrapping the core with the sheet product for later dispensing. This may be easily accomplished at the time of manufacture by rolling the continuous core length with a sheet including messages, coupons, etc., before rolling the product onto the core and cutting the assembly to length. Alternatively, the core may be cut to length and a display sheet wrapped about the tubular core, with the sheet overlapping the ends of the core so it is visible even when the sheet product is rolled about the core. By providing an attention getting appearance (e.g., paper money, etc.) along the edge of such a roll core where it is visible even when the rolled product is on the core, persons are attracted to the specific product in order to determine the underlying message or financial advantage of the core when the rolled product on the core has been used up.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 564,418 issued on Jul. 21, 1896 to Levi W. Yaggy, titled xe2x80x9cPanoramic Display Device,xe2x80x9d describes a thin, box-like structure having a series of rollers therein with a scroll disposed over the rollers. The scroll is arranged to roll from one roller to a takeup roller, and passes over an idler roller to reverse its direction before being wound upon the takeup roller. This provides for the display of portions of both sides of the scroll, through windows formed in the box. Yaggy does not disclose any advertising or display means permanently printed or wrapped about the rollers themselves, or upon a disposable roll core, as provided by the present invention. Rather, the Yaggy display is on the sheet material being dispensed back and forth between the rollers, rather than on the rollers themselves, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,467,937 issued on Sep. 11, 1923 to Basil E. Jarvis, titled xe2x80x9cAdvertising Device,xe2x80x9d describes a display sheet retractably disposed upon a roller, with the free end of the sheet being secured to the distal end of a folding latticework type grate or the like. When the grate is extended, the advertising sheet is unrolled from its roller for display. As in the Yaggy device discussed immediately above, Jarvis provides the display upon a sheet of material which is retractably extended from a roller, rather than on a disposable roller itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,105,367 issued on Jan. 11, 1938 to Philip D. Parsons, titled xe2x80x9cWrapper Or Label For Toilet Packages,xe2x80x9d describes a wrapper for a rolled article (e.g., toilet tissue), with the wrapper being formed of paper with its grain structure oriented to permit ease of tearing the wrapper open in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of the roll. Advertising or display means is illustrated on the wrapper in the drawing Figures, but Parsons does not disclose any information about the tubular roll core of the rolled article, which core and display means thereon forms the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,480 issued on Oct. 17, 1967 to Jacques Abramoff, titled xe2x80x9cPaper Dispenser,xe2x80x9d describes a dispenser for rolled articles with a secondary roller behind the main roll, over which the sheet material is passed. Abramoff states that this results in more even tearing of the sheet. No disclosure is made of the appearance of the roll core upon which the rolled material is wound. Abramoff only discloses that the secondary roller has a roughened surface for causing it to rotate during dispensing of the sheet material, but this secondary roller does not contain the sheet material, but only guides it during dispensing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,456 issued on Sep. 16, 1969 to John F. Chmela, titled xe2x80x9cDecorative Cover,xe2x80x9d describes a cover for fitting removably over a roll of toilet tissue installed upon a roller. While Chmela states that the cover may include decoration thereon, he does not disclose any advertising or display means, nor any appearance whatsoever, for the core of the roll within his cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,801 issued on Jun. 4, 1974 to Clair D. Vander Schaaf, titled xe2x80x9cAdvertising Or Novelty Device,xe2x80x9d describes a curved sheet of material which is removably applied to a can or similar container to provide an advertising or novelty display thereover. The Vander Schaaf cover differs considerably from the present invention, in that (a) the Vander Schaaf cover is applied by the end user, rather than during manufacture of the underlying article; (b) The Vander Schaaf cover is intended only for use on articles such as beverage cans and the like, with the thickness of the insulating means teaching away from the thin sheet of material or printed means used on roll cores according to the present invention; (c) The Vander Schaaf cover is reusable, whereas the present roll core display means is applied once during manufacture and is not reapplied to another roll core or other cylindrical article later; and (d) the Vander Schaaf cover is sufficiently rigid as to take on a natural curved set to conform to the shape of the can to which it is applied, whereas the embodiment of the present invention wherein a sheet of material is applied to the roll core utilizes a very thin and flexible sheet of material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,154 issued on Jan. 7, 1975 to Victor Monia, titled xe2x80x9cMethod Of Forming Tubular Walls For Product Containers,xe2x80x9d describes the construction of toothpaste tubes from a preprinted structural wall material having alternating patterns or designs thereon. The structural wall is formed by wrapping one sheet of the material, containing both patterns or designs thereon, twice about the forming mandrel before sealing to form the tube. The outer surface of a tube formed from a sheet manufactured according to Monia may have either of two different designs displayed thereon, depending upon which design was first wound upon the mandrel, with the second design thus being the outermost one being displayed. Monia does not disclose any means for wrapping the pre-printed structural wall material of his invention about an existing tubular roll core for subsequent rolling of sheet material (toilet tissue, foil or plastic wrap, etc.) thereover, as provided by the present invention. In fact, Monia teaches away from the present invention in that his sheets must have sufficient strength to form the structure of the product contained therein, whereas the present invention need only comprise a very thin and flexible sheet of material applied over an existing tubular roll core, or may be achieved by printing the information or pattern on and/or within the roll core.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,606 issued on Oct. 19, 1976 to William F. Davis, titled xe2x80x9cDual Purpose Container Label,xe2x80x9d describes a cylindrical container having a metallic foil label spirally wrapped therearound. The label is removed and the inner surface, i.e., the surface without any printing or other indicia thereon, is used as a cooking surface for the contents of the can. As the foil is wrapped spirally about the can, the removal of the sheet results in any message on the sheet being broken up due to the spiral break across the sheet. Moreover, the Davis foil must be sufficiently durable to be folded to provide some rigidity as a cooking vessel, and is not a thin, flexible sheet or markings directly upon the underlying cylinder, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,275 issued on Feb. 1, 1977 to Victor Monia, titled xe2x80x9cMaterial For, And Method Of Forming, Tubular Walls For Product Containers,xe2x80x9d describes the same material and method as described in the ""154 U.S. patent issued to the same inventor and described further above. The ""275 U.S. patent is a division of the parent ""154 U.S. patent, with claims directed to the article of manufacture, rather than the method of manufacture as in the parent ""154 U.S. patent. The same distinctions noted further above between the method and apparatus of the Monia ""154 U.S. patent and the present invention are seen to apply here as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,984 issued on Jan. 17, 1995 to Kim Hindsgual, titled xe2x80x9cTubular Body, Especially As A Core Element, And A Roll With A Core Element,xe2x80x9d describes a dispensing roll for rolled articles such as protective disposable toilet seat covers or the like. Hindsgual discloses the installation of a fragrance producing insert within the core of the roll, but no disclosure is made of any form of advertising or other display disposed upon the outer surface of the roll for viewing when the material rolled upon the core has been used, as provided by the present invention.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,765 issued on Jun. 22, 1999 to William H. Burgess et al., titled xe2x80x9cSystem And Method For Embossing A Pattern On A Consumer Paper product, xe2x80x9d describes such a method in accordance with the title of the patent. No tubular roll core or application of display means thereto is disclosed by Burgess et al.
None of the above inventions and patents, either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention comprises the application of display means (advertising, information, etc.) to the outer and/or inner surface of the tubular core of a rolled product (toilet tissue, foil and plastic wrap, paper towels, etc.). While the display is for the most part concealed during the time that at least some of the rolled sheet product remains on the roll core, the display becomes visible as the last of the rolled product is removed from the tubular core. The display may comprise advertising encouraging the user to purchase more of the product, and perhaps discounts toward such future purchases. Alternatively, the display may advertise some other related or unrelated product(s) or service(s), as desired, or may provide public service and/or safety messages.
The means used for applying the display to the outer surface of the roll core may apply different messages to different portions of an uncut roll before cutting to length, thus providing chance means for users of products incorporating the present invention The display means applied to the roll cores may be in the form of colored or monotone ink or other printing, or may be applied as a separate display sheet to an otherwise unadorned roll core before the product is rolled thereon during manufacture. When a separate sheet of material is applied to the roll core, the ends of the sheet may remain slightly longer than the core, and may be tucked into the inner roll core to wrap around the end. The visible edge of the display sheet may have an appearance of money or some other appearance to attract attention to the product.
The present display means provides advertisers and others with a means of carrying their messages which costs nothing to process or ship, as it is already a part of the manufactured product. Yet, such empty roll tubes are encountered constantly by people as rolled product is used from such a tubular roll core. By providing advertising or other message(s) of sufficient interest and value to the user, the present display means will prove to be a most effective means of spreading the message of the messenger using the present advertising or message system. The income produced for the manufacturer by the additional advertising means, will serve to lower the cost of the product and thereby benefit the consumer and encourage further purchases of the product to benefit the manufacturer as well.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved display means for the tubular cores of rolled sheet products.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved display means for tubular cores which may comprise text and/or graphic display means in any combination thereof, applied either directly to the outer and/or inner surface of the roll core or applied by means of a thin, flexible secondary sheet of material applied to the core.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved display means for tubular cores having a secondary sheet which may be longer than the length of the core tube and wrap around the ends in order to be displayed when rolled product remains upon the core.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved display means for tubular cores having a secondary sheet edge which provides an eye catching appearance, such as paper money or the like, for the core ends when rolled product remains upon the core.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved display means which may provide different displays randomly distributed among consumers to provide chance means for the acquisition of a winning roll core.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.